Today pitchers and catchers report in Phoenix, AZ for the Milwaukee Brewers. As good as that sounds, the news was even better yesterday, when the team and Rickie Weeks agreed on a 4-year extension through 2014 with an option for 2015 worth in excess of 50 million dollars.

The team may be losing Prince Fielder at the end of this season if they can’t agree to a new deal with the slugging first baseman, but they will have one of the games most productive 2nd baseman’s in Weeks for the next several years. Weeks is coming off a career year, one that was highlighted by the fact that he was healthy and played in 160 games. Now, with the contract behind him, he’s ready to play.

“I guess there was a sense of urgency on both sides to try and get something done, hopefully. We got it done. I really didn’t want it to linger on into the season and worry about this or worry about that. I just want to go out there and try to play ball and just worry about that. I got it done, so now I can go out and help my teammates win games,” Weeks said.

Winning games should be easier to do for Weeks and his mates thanks to the additions of Zach Greinke and Shawn Marcum, as well as manager Ron Roenicke. Weeks thinks Roenicke’s style will benefit him and the team. “We want to stay aggressive. I think we want to revert back to the playoff season and years before that. We really put teams on the alert running bases. That doesn’t necessarily mean stealing bases. You need the mindset to go out there and run the bases and play hard.”

That hard work paid off handsomely for Weeks in 2010, when he hit 29 home runs, scored 112 runs and had an OPS of .830. The former #2 overall pick always had the tools, and last year he put them all to use. Now, he’s hoping that his hard work will pay off into October. “We signed Ryan Braun, Yovanni Gallardo, Corey Hart and guys to multi-year extensions which shows they are trying to win and win right now.”

Now you can add Rickie to that list of young stars in the Brewers arsenal. Rickie didn’t like to focus on the past when things weren’t too good in the rear view mirror, and he hasn’t changed coming off that bust-out 2010 season. When asked if he could stay healthy and how he felt right now he replied, curtly. “I feel great. That’s all I can say.”

That’s because, nothing more needs to be said

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Written by Scott Johnston
Scott Johnston is a longtime Sports TV Producer/Writer from Los Angeles who now lives just outside of Boston. After a long career at KCAL-TV in L.A., where Scott covered such things as Kirk Gibson’s HR, Hank Gathers death, and Magic Johnson’s retirement, NBA ll-Star Game MVP performance and subsequent return to the NBA. His favorite team is the Oakland A’s and whomever happens to be playing the Yankees, USC or the Cowboys on that particular day.
Scott left his staff position at KCAL and formed his own small production company in 1996 while continuing to freelance there and at other stations, including WTTG in DC for two years.
His company, ProTVSports, started out covering one team during Spring Training in 1997 but now covers six of the Cactus League teams. He also covers tennis and golf events during the year and has had the privilege of covering 5 NBA Finals, including two of the last three.
Scott loves all sports, but considers baseball to be his favorite. He loves politcs, reading, movies and his wife and two daughters—not in that order!